Airbus, Air France Differ On A380 Modifications
TOULOUSE, France (Dow Jones)--Air France wanted to modify at least some of the 12 Airbus A380s superjumbos that it has on order to include a new sub-business class cabin, but Airbus wasn't prepared to risk further disruptions to the tight A380 production schedule, a senior Airbus official said.
Earlier this week, Air France rolled out a new passenger class that it hopes will attract executives who normally would fly business class but are being forced by their employers to downgrade to economy class to cut down on travel expenses. It also wants to tempt economy-class passengers who would like more comfort but aren't prepared to pay business class fares.
Bruno Matheu, Air France's head of marketing, revenue management and programs, said Air France, one of the two pillars of the Air France-KLM (AF.FR) group, would have liked to offer its Premium Voyageur cabin on its A380s. Air France has 12 A380s on order and will receive its first aircraft at the end of October.
Matheu said Airbus couldn't perform the requested change in configuration because its engineering resources are stretched too thinly. "It's a problem of engineering. Airbus doesn't have engineers available to do the studies and necessary preparation" for a cabin revamp, Matheu said. "All of Airbus's engineering resources are totally saturated today."
The A380 program was delayed by two years at huge cost to Airbus in terms of late delivery payments because of problems installing the 310 miles of electric wiring in each of the double-decker planes, the world's largest commercial aircraft. Some financial analysts expect Airbus' parent company, European Aeronautic Defence & Space Co NV (EAD.FR), to book a new provision against extra A380 costs in the second half of this year.
Part of the problem was that Airbus agreed to too much customization of the cabin interiors for some early customers who asked for time-consuming modifications to the standard layout, notably but not only involving in-flight entertainment, electrical and electronic systems.
The first batch of 25 aircraft is being wired by hand while a more automated system is brought into play.
But Fabrice Bregier, Airbus' chief operating officer, disputed Matheu's take on the problem.
"When you design a cabin, it requires a lot of effort, and we deliver the cabin that the company wants," he told Dow Jones Newswires. "If the airline then changes its mind, it has to wait for another batch. It's not just a question of changing the seats, it's much more complicated than that."
Bregier acknowledged that the A380 "was our weak spot, so we're being extra careful" not to disrupt it.
"We weren't about to create additional problems for ourselves just as we're emerging from our cabling problems," Bregier said.
Matheu admitted that it wasn't just a question of bolting new types of seats to the floor. "It's much more complicated than that," he said. These days, airline seats contain a lot of technology that must be configured according to the original design of the cabin.
Air France decided in late 2007 to go with a four-class configuration on its long-haul routes. The Premium Voyageur class will come into service in the coming weeks and months on 76 of the airline's wide-bodied jets, but won't be offered on its A380s.
Australian airline Qantas Airways Ltd (QAN.AU) has four A380s currently in service. It started offering a four-class configuration with a premium economy cabin nearly one year ago on some routes.
-By David Pearson, Dow Jones Newswires; +33140171740,
david.pearson@dowjones.com
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